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William Morris: Primal Instincts
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10466 |
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Section : |
THE ARTS
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| Issue
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1 / 1993 |
363 Words |
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One of the finest glass craftsmen in the United States, 35-year-old William Morris has gained international renown for his haunting, primordial glass sculptures.
As a boy Morris would find Indian burial sites and archaeological remains during long hikes in the rugged coastal woodlands near his native Carmel, California. Later he took up hunting with bow and arrow. These experiences, together with his travels to prehistoric sites in Europe, have profoundly affected the man and his art.
After attending university, Morris came to the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington, founded in 1971 by a seminal figure in the studio glass movement, Dale Chihuly. For eight years Morris honed his skills working on Chihuly's Pilchuck studio team. Today Morris is artistic director of Pilchuck, and his works are in museums and private collections around the world.
With each successive series of works Morris has reached beyond the limit of what was thought physically possible in glass. In his Petroglyph Vessel series, for example, his close friend and team assistant Jon Ormbrek interprets Morris' drawings reminiscent of cave paintings, and lays them out in powdered glass on a solid steel table with a hearted surface. Morris then rolls the partly blown molten vessel, attached to a long blowpipe, carefully over the powdered glass to pick up the image, and blows the vessel to its full size. With the help of two assistants, another layer of molten glass is poured onto the heavy circular vessel. Which is then gently shaped into an oblong, making each face a "canvas" for the glass painting.
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